Most consumers still start local business searches on Google, but mobile dominates across age groups and journeys now span social media, review sites, voice assistants, and AI tools. A recent BrightLocal study of 1,227 U.S. consumers who searched for a local business in the prior three months maps where these journeys begin, which devices they happen on, and how AI fits in.<\/p>\n
Mobile leads as the starting device for a local business search. According to the survey, 73% of consumers began their most recent local search on a mobile phone, 19% on a computer, and 8% on a tablet.<\/p>\n
Device preference shifts with age, but mobile still leads in every bracket:<\/p>\n
Older consumers lean more on computers and tablets, yet mobile still leads in every age bracket. Slow-loading pages, social profiles without clickable contact details, or images that look unclear on a phone can quietly push on-the-go searchers toward a competitor.<\/p>\n
More than half (52%) of consumers opened their most recent local business search on Google Search, with another 9% starting in Google Maps. When the full journey is measured, 71% used Google Search at some point along the way.<\/p>\n
That leaves 39% of searches starting somewhere else: social media, AI tools, review sites, voice search, or mapping alternatives. None of those individually rivals Google as a starting point, but they collectively show that the search landscape is more diverse than a single channel suggests.<\/p>\n
Three quarters of consumers (75%) used more than one channel during their most recent local business search. Social media appeared for 30%, AI tools for 23%, and review sites for 19%.<\/p>\n
Even consumers who begin elsewhere drift back to Google. Roughly two in five of those who started on social media, AI, voice search, review sites, or Apple Maps returned to Google before deciding. A channel that does not start the journey can still shape it.<\/p>\n
AI tools showed up in 23% of recent local business searches, and 31% of consumers use AI for local recommendations at least monthly. Only 19% said they would never consider AI for finding a local business.<\/p>\n
Usage, however, is not the same as trust. Of consumers already using AI for local searches, just 18% felt ready to contact a business solely based on what an AI tool recommended. The rest went on to check Google or other channels to verify details or gather more information.<\/p>\n
This verification step is most visible among consumers who started on an AI tool:<\/p>\n
By comparison, 33% of consumers who started on Google Search stopped there, satisfied with what they found. AI appears to function as a shortlisting tool, not a final decision-maker, with credibility still hinging on traditional channels.<\/p>\n
The channel mix has widened, but the priorities remain grounded. A few practical implications follow from the data:<\/p>\n
Local search is a multi-step process rather than a single click. Brands that show up clearly across the whole journey, starting with Google and extending through AI and review sites, are more likely to survive the shortlisting stage.<\/p>\n
The findings come from a survey of 1,227 U.S. consumers who had conducted an online search for a local business in the three months prior. The research was published by BrightLocal.<\/p>\n
Mobile phones are the most common starting device, used by 73% of consumers for their most recent local business search, compared with 19% on a computer and 8% on a tablet.<\/p>\n
75% of consumers used more than one channel during their most recent local business search, with social media (30%), AI tools (23%), and review sites (19%) appearing alongside Google.<\/p>\n
Not yet. Only 18% of consumers using AI for local searches felt ready to contact a business based solely on an AI recommendation, and 43% of those who started on an AI tool went on to verify with Google.<\/p>\n